It’s a nice feeling to have a baby in stable condition in the NICU. The doctors’ rounds are a breeze and there’s no need to wake up in a panic and call the nurse to make sure Sol made it through the night with no episodes.

Here are today’s updates:
– Sol’s oxygen levels dipped just below normal overnight, so they put him back on a 1L 21% flow to give him a little boost. The doctor on duty seemed surprised that this level was all he needed to stay happy and suggested that if the reduced levels of Phenobarb don’t do the trick, maybe a little caffeine would help. Caffeine? Seems like an appropriate fix considering my love for Pepsi and Starbucks.
– The levels of Phenobarb have been cut by a third, so we should start to see a more lively baby over the next few days.
– Sol no longer has heat support and his body temperature has stabilized, so he’ll likely be moving to a new bed soon.

While I was there today, we worked on his exercises from Occupational Therapy and also played with the pacifier a bit. He was a champ for everything. He also got to visit with his Nana and Papa for a while and showed Nana that he could do a Hawaiian punch! (Sadly, I didn’t have my camera ready for that one!)

His nurse noted that he seemed much more awake today and was making a little more noise than usual – a good thing! We’ll have one more day of practice and then we’ll continue working on sucking & swallowing with Melissa, his speech therapist, on Monday. Given his eagerness to have his pacifier today, I’d say we have a good chance of figuring out how to eat from the bottle soon.